Documentary by Solent University students wins national award

A documentary filmed by two former Southampton Solent University graduates has won a national award.

Birdman, which was produced by Sam Clarke and Matt Farrant, pictured, won the best undergraduate factual production award at Royal Television Society awards.

The ten-minute film focuses on a story based on brotherly love and Spitfires and features Sam’s uncles Alan and Terry.

Alan had always had a love for Spitfires and flying and the film charts his journey building his own scaled-down Spitfire, but it also focuses heavily on his brother Terry, who was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease at the age of 22.

This meant that Terry was on dialysis for 25 years. But it was thanks to Alan that Terry has a new lease of life after he donated a kidney to him.

The film ends on an emotional scene of Alan flying Terry in one of his planes.

The pair graduated in 2013 with first-class honours after studying TV and Video production at Solent University.

Their former lecturer Stuart Ray, said: “Our department are delighted that Sam and Matt have won this prestigious award.

“We had seen their film and knew it was very good, so in honesty we weren’t surprised to hear that they had won.”

Sam Clarke, said: “This story was very personal to me and I’m so pleased that all the hard work that went into producing the film has paid off.”